TOKYO (Reuters) – Jitters over a possible U.S.-led military strike against the Syrian government knocked Asian equities on Wednesday, with Japan’s Nikkei hitting a two-month low, and pushed oil prices and safe-haven gold to multi-month highs.

An acute ‘risk-off’ mode also boosted the appeal of the Japanese yen, which held at a one-week high against the dollar and euro after having posted its biggest rally in more than two months. Against a basket of major currencies, the dollar was steady at a one-week low.

TOKYO (Reuters) – Jitters over a possible U.S.-led military strike against the Syrian government knocked Asian equities on Wednesday, with Japan’s Nikkei hitting a two-month low, and pushed oil prices and safe-haven gold to multi-month highs.

An acute ‘risk-off’ mode also boosted the appeal of the Japanese yen, which held at a one-week high against the dollar and euro after having posted its biggest rally in more than two months. Against a basket of major currencies, the dollar .DXY was steady at a one-week low.

TOKYO, Aug 27 (Reuters) – Japanese government bond prices
rose on Tuesday after a robust 20-year debt auction, while
expectations that the Bank of Japan would carry out bond-buying
operations the following day as part of its programme to spur
growth also boosted sentiment.

The Ministry of Finance sold 1.2 trillion yen ($12.2
billion) worth of 20-year bonds, with a bid-to-cover ratio of
3.39, up from its previous auction of 2.61.

TOKYO, Aug 23 (Reuters) – Yields on benchmark Japanese
government bonds rose on Friday, tracking moves in U.S.
Treasuries, while some market players were disappointed the Bank
of Japan trimmed the size of its purchase of five- to 10-year
maturities in its operations.

Sharp gains in Tokyo’s Nikkei share average also
dampened the appeal of government debt. The benchmark ended 2.2
percent high.

SINGAPORE/TOKYO, Aug 23 (Reuters) – The dollar touched a
near three-week high versus the yen on Friday, supported by this
week’s rise in U.S. bond yields and as Tokyo shares rose after
business surveys suggested the global economy was improving.

The dollar advanced 0.2 percent to about 98.89 yen.
Earlier, it rose to 99.12 yen on trading platform EBS, the
dollar’s highest level since Aug. 5.

SINGAPORE/TOKYO (Reuters) – The dollar touched a near three-week high versus the yen on Friday, supported by this week’s rise in U.S. yields and as Tokyo shares rose after business surveys suggested the global economy was on the mend.

The dollar rose 0.3 percent to 98.98 yen and had touched an intraday high of 99.10 yen, it’s highest since August 5.

SINGAPORE/TOKYO, Aug 23 (Reuters) – The dollar touched a
near three-week high versus the yen on Friday, supported by this
week’s rise in U.S. yields and as Tokyo shares rose after
business surveys suggested the global economy was on the mend.

The dollar rose 0.3 percent to 98.98 yen and had
touched an intraday high of 99.10 yen, it’s highest since Aug.
5.

TOKYO, Aug 16 (Reuters) – Japanese government bond prices
slipped on Friday, tracking weakness in U.S. Treasuries, after
encouraging U.S. jobs data increased expectations that the
Federal Reserve will reduce its bond-buying stimulus programme
as soon as next month.

The Bank of Japan’s offer to buy 950 billion yen ($9.7
billion) worth of JGBs with residual maturities of one to 10
years provided some support to the market.

TOKYO, Aug 14 (Reuters) – Japanese government bond prices
eased on Wednesday, with the 10-year yield coming off a
three-month low, tracking weakness in U.S. Treasuries after
encouraging U.S. retail sales data and signs that Europe’s
economy is starting to turn around.

TOKYO, Aug 13 (Reuters) – Japanese shares rose and the yen
eased after a report on Tuesday said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
is considering a corporate tax cut as a way to offset the impact
of a planned two-stage increase in the sales tax.

Abe is trying to spur growth and pull the world’s
third-largest economy out of 15 years of deflation with fiscal
and monetary expansionary policies.

About Dominic

"I am head of the European stock markets team based in London. Before that, I was with Reuters Hong Kong for more than 10 years, covering politics, banking, macro-economy and Asian G-3 currency bonds and credit."